Beating the Breakfast Blues: Homemade Granola

It is early Monday morning. My alarm has just gone off again after hitting snooze three times. I tell myself, “It’s OK. I can stay in bed a few more minutes. I showered last night, by bed head isn’t all that bad, I know what I’m going to wear, my lunch is packed, and breakfast is ready to go.”

This is my ideal scenario on Monday mornings.  Often my lunch is only half-packed, I haven’t REALLY thought about what to wear, and I don’t really think about much breakfast. I’ll just grab a granola bar and apple and am sort of bummed about my less-than-exciting meal. Eh, it’s Monday. Mondays suck.

I have recently tried to be much savvier about my “easy” breakfasts. I’ve brought out the Magic Bullet for smoothies and perfected the art of making crock pot oatmeal.  My new favorite, though, is homemade granola fruit and yogurt parfaits.  I use my Magic Bullet jar and lid to make it an easy “on the go” breakfast. The best part is that I make it up the night before, so it fits in well with my attempts to be as lazy as possible on Monday mornings (or any other morning of the week).

Homemade granola? Why not just buy a box and call it good? You can certainly do that, but I will say that granola is VERY easy to make, cheap, and allows you to have complete control over what you are eating!

My favorite recipe to use is the following:

Homemade Granola

Homemade GranolaIngredients:

4 cups old-fashioned oats (you can use quick oats, but I don’t like it quite as much)

½ cup ground flax seed

½-1 cup sliced or chopped nuts (I like almonds and pecans)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

A bit of salt

 

½ cup maple syrup

¼ cup honey

½ cup canola oil

 

Homemade Granola ParfaitDirections:

1. Preheat oven to 325.

2. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

3. Combine all dry ingredients.

4. Combine all wet ingredients and pour over the oat mixture.

5. Spread onto baking sheet. Stir every 5-10 minutes.

6. Bake 30-40 minutes. I usually like mine a bit browner!

7. Add one cup raisins or other dried fruit.

8. Cool and store in airtight container.

Battling the Breakfast Blues- Homemade Granola

I truly do look forward to breakfast when I know I have a yummy parfait waiting for me! Does it help me get out of bed? The jury is still out on that one…

What is your favorite, simple breakfast? Do the kids like it or is it just for you? Share your favorites!

 

Lana
Lana Criswell is a born and bred Hawkeye fan who has lived in Iowa City for almost ten years! She came for college and never looked back. Lana has been married to her husband, Tom, for two years and is momma to Jessa (3.5 months) and Charlie, the dog. She finished graduate school nearly four years ago in speech-language pathology and works at Children’s Center for Therapy in Iowa City. She is excited to be able to work 80% time now and have some “girl time” with Jessa each week. Lana loves spending time with family and friends, cooking/baking, going to Hawkeye games, going on walks around the neighborhood with the dog, and reading.

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